Loyola Marymount University Law School was founded in 1920 as the Loyola College of Law in downtown Los Angeles. It was the first law school in Southern California and one of the oldest law schools west of the Mississippi River. The school was founded by Father Hugh A. Donohoe, S.J., who wanted to provide a quality legal education to Catholics and other students in the area. In 1925, the college moved to its current location on Loyola Marymount University’s main campus in Westchester, California.
In 1968, Loyola College of Law merged with Marymount College to form Loyola Marymount University (LMU). This merger allowed both schools to benefit from each other’s strengths and resources, making LMU one of the leading educational institutions on the West Coast for both undergraduate and graduate studies. The merger also enabled LMU Law School to expand its curriculum and faculty, becoming one of the most respected law schools in California.
Today, Loyola Marymount University is home to one of the top-ranked law schools in Los Angeles County, offering a wide range of legal programs including JD/MBA dual degrees and specialized LLM programs for international lawyers. The school also offers interdisciplinary degrees combining law with business administration or public policy studies. The faculty consists of highly acclaimed scholars whose research has shaped many areas of legal theory and practice across different fields such as business law, constitutional law, intellectual property law, international human rights law, labor & employment law, public interest & social justice lawyering and taxation & trusts & estate planning.
Loyola Marymount University Law School is located in the state of California. As one of the leading law programs, Loyola Marymount University Law School has a high average LSAT score of 157-163 when recruiting new students. As a return, the median starting salary for law graduates reaches $100,000 per year. See the following table for detailed admissions information and career profiles of Loyola Marymount University Law School.
Admissions: Loyola Marymount University
Loyola Marymount University Law School is one of the top law schools in the country. It is located in Los Angeles, California and offers a Juris Doctor degree that prepares students for the practice of law. The school has a selective admissions process, and only about 25 percent of applicants are admitted each year. The average GPA for accepted students is 3.5 and the average LSAT score is 163. The school also considers letters of recommendation, personal statements, and extracurricular activities when making admissions decisions. Additionally, diversity among admitted students is highly valued at Loyola Marymount University Law School. There are a variety of financial aid options available to all admitted students, including grants and scholarships provided by the school itself as well as external sources such as employers and private organizations. In addition to offering an excellent legal education, Loyola Marymount University Law School also provides career services to help its graduates find employment after graduation.
Fall 2019 Admissions and Enrollment Statistics
Total number of full- and part-time applicants
5,262
Total number of full- and part-time acceptances
1,704
Overall acceptance rate
32.4%
Total number of full- and part-time first-year students enrolled
396
Number of full-time program applicants
4,994
Number of full-time program acceptances
1,602
Full-time acceptance rate
32.1%
Number of first-year full-time students enrolled
339
Number of part-time program applicants
2,485
Number of part-time program acceptances
110
Part-time acceptance rate
4.4%
Number of first-year part-time students enrolled
57
Fall 2019 GPA and LSAT Scores
25th-75th percentile GPA scores for all students
3.31-3.67
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for all students
157-163
25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for full-time students
3.33-3.68
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for full-time students
157-163
25th-75th percentile undergraduate GPA for part-time students
3.2-3.66
25th-75th percentile LSAT scores for part-time students
155-163
Careers: Loyola Marymount University
Bar Statistics (Winter and Summer 2018 administrations)
State where the greatest number of first-time test takers took the bar
CA
School’s bar passage rate for first-time test takers
85.5%
Statewide bar passage rate for first-time test takers
70.7%
Class of 2018 Graduates
Total graduates
396
Graduates employed at graduation
N/A
Graduates known to be employed nine months after graduation
97.4%
Starting Salaries of 2018 Graduates Employed Full-time
25th percentile private sector starting salary
$70,000
Median private sector starting salary
$100,000
75th percentile private sector starting salary
$160,000
Percent in the private sector who reported salary information
59%
Median public service starting salary
$61,800
Areas of Legal Practice (Class of 2018)
Percent employed in academia
1.0%
Percent employed in business and industry
18.0%
Percent employed in government
7.0%
Percent employed in all judicial clerkships
2.0%
Percent employed in law firms
59.0%
Percent employed in public interest
12.0%
Percent employed in an unknown field
1.0%
Percent employed in a judicial clerkship by an Article III federal judge
1.0%
2018 Graduates Employment Location
Graduates employed in-state
95%
Graduates employed in foreign countries
0.3%
Number of states where graduates are employed
9
New England (CT, ME, MA, NH, RI, VT)
0.0%
Middle Atlantic (NY, NJ, PA)
0.3%
East North Central (IL, IN, MI, OH, WI)
0.5%
West North Central (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
0.3%
South Atlantic (DE, DC, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, VA, WV)
0.8%
East South Central (AL, KY, MS, TN)
0.0%
West South Central (AR, LA, OK, TX)
1.0%
Pacific (AK, CA, HI, OR, WA)
95.2%
Mountain (AZ, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, UT, WY)
0.3%
Employment location unknown
1.3%
Career Services
(Data appear as originally submitted by this school)
Career services operations
Services include individual counseling appointments and weekly informational programs to help students develop important job search skills. Students have a dedicated counselor and use of a comprehensive career library as well as on-line information. There are on-campus interview programs in Fall and Spring, and the Office vigorously pursues other employment opportunities for students and graduates
Job Type
Bar admission required or anticipated (e.g., attorney and corporate counsel positions, law clerks, judicial clerks)
85.0%
J.D. preferred, law degree enhances position (e.g., corporate contracts administrator, alternative dispute resolution specialist, government regulatory analyst, FBI special agent)
6.0%
Professional/other (jobs that require professional skills or training but for which a J.D. is neither preferred nor particularly applicable; e.g., accountant, teacher, business manager, nurse)
7.0%
Nonprofessional/other (job that does not require any professional skills or training or is taken on a temporary basis and not viewed as part of a career path)
